The Sprayers

One day, on a whim, I filled a sprayer with water and a couple of drops of red food colouring, for Ae to take to the park. I thought it would keep her amused while I did some exercise. She was entertained. She sat on the walkway and sprayed all around her. She sprayed on the white tree bark that was falling off the trees. She sprayed on bird shit and stones. It was fun for a while and then she got bored.

The sprayer then sat unused on the shoe rack for a few weeks. Her brother asked about it when he came home from school but he didn't try it. Suddenly, we are hit by sprayer fever in the house. They both want the sprayer. "Oh ! Let it be a lesson in sharing and taking turns.", I thought. But reminding them to share was disrupting my peace in the park. So, we ended up asking by mother for her 'bug sprayer' from the balcony.

The second sprayer is opaque so I didn't fill it with colouring. It is bigger and initially neither of the kids wanted it. So, back to sharing and taking turns. One day, I mentioned to Ew that it had a shooting mode. Now it is the sprayer of his choice.

So what are they learning from using the sprayer at the park besides the abandoned lesson in sharing and taking turns ? Plenty !
1. They are building up fine motor skills to help with their writing.
2. They are improving coordination.
3. They are learning that red colouring only shows on lighter coloured objects like white bird poo but not on mud.
4. They are learning amidst my shouts of "No!" that spraying on the winged termites damages their wings and they can't fly. But if their mother stops them in time, and the bug does not shed his wing and it has a chance to dry, he can fly again.
5. They are learning that you need to stop and let some air into the big sprayer or it won't spray - Bernoulli's principle.
6. They are learning which people to avoid because they will get yelled at for spraying on plants.
7, 8, 9, 10.....

Bath Art

Ingredients for fun:

1) Non-toxic paint

2) Palette / any receptacle for paints

3) Paint brushes / sponges / toothbrushes / rags

4) Dark coloured clothes

For clean up:

5) Cleaning brushes

6) Bathroom cleaner, if required

Tips:

1) Set rules

2) Involve kids in the cleaning up (skip the bathroom cleaner) - that can be part of the fun

3) Expect a mess

4) Have rags ready

5) Clean the palettes / brushes etc., bathroom then shower the kids

6) Test your tiles - I forgot to check and panicked when the red paint didn't wash off



Ae painted a dinosaur

Ew's Transformer robot on the bathroom floor

Magnificent !

A wacky and wonderful journey through science

Dull science is rampant. The worse I can think of are the text books we used in primary and secondary schools (in Malaysia), 30 years ago. So bad, that I cannot remember how the secondary school ones look like. The only primary school science book I can remember is a page with a search for hidden animals. That was way back in Standard 1.

Despite that, I became a scientist. I met many very interesting science teachers who made up for those dire books and kindled my interest in the subject. The best part was having an aunt, who was a science teacher, who always took the opportunity to show the relevance of science in everyday life. Most unforgettable, was the time she bought cow eyes so we could cut them up at home and examine the lenses.

Enter Miss Frizzle and the Magic School Bus - a series of books by Scholastic about scientific topics written in the most entertaining fashion yet packed with nuggets of information. According to the Official Scholastic website for The Magic School Bus the series is almost 25 years old. But I have never seen them until a couple months ago at the Taipei Public Library. The author is Joanna Cole who was an elementary school teacher, librarian and a children's book editor. The books are illustrated by Bruce Degen.

Miss Frizzle is a teacher who is very passionate about her subject. She is portrayed as a wacky woman, very single minded in her quest to impart knowledge and provide experiences for her class of students. She is often the butt of the children's jokes which I find can be quite rude. This I attribute to my Asian perspective of respect and reverence of capable people in a teaching capacity. Or perhaps, I am now too distant from the age where it was hilarious to poke fun at teachers. But I tend to skip those parts when reading to my children. I substitute every nickname for Frizzie/ the Frizz with Miss Frizzle and I erase every mockery of her. Yes, I am a stick in the mud.

The first book we picked up at the end of last year,was "The Magic School Bus and the Electric Field Trip". Miss Frizzle takes the students to a power plant. The children learn how electricity, how it is generated and distributed to homes. They travel through various electrical appliances. 
With all The Magic School Bus classic books, the scientific information is presented in a simple and easy to understand format. There is an element of imagination but the science remains factual. I really like the many layers of information. While the main story progresses, there are side notes in the form of the students' reports which provide additional detail or explanation. Real scientific terms are introduced and explained. The things explored are familiar and relevant. Sometimes, Ae follows the main story. Most times, she ignores the books but if she finds one on a shelve in the library, she brings it to her brother. Ew follows the main story and goes for the extra notes. Sometimes, he requests that I skip those parts, so I do.

If you are uncomfortable with the imaginary aspects of the story like a bus that changes forms, time travel, students small enough to float through electrical wires, the last two pages handles the brickbats. The author admits certain things are not possible or provides explanation. Some additional clarification is provided for anyone who may want to look up some of the information.

The illustrations are fantastic - attractive, colourful and greatly help children understand the concepts. There are detailed diagrams to explain how things work e.g. turbines. Jokes are often inserted as speech bubbles. I mentioned that Miss Frizzle is ribbed but there are clever play on words and wit. I love the creative designs of Miss Frizzles dresses, complete with matching shoes and earrings. It complements the theme explored in each book and provides previews of what is in store. Again, the diagrams are fun but factual. I wish Bruce Degen illustrated some of the text books I read.

Being very interested in electrical appliances, Ew got a lot out of that book. He probably didn't grasp the part about atoms losing an electron and how the movement of electrons creates electricity but I think he acquired the basic understanding of electricity. He can name the electrical appliances in the house (vs. non electrical). He can explain the end effect of electricity for an electrical appliance to work e.g. generate heat or light, cause movement. During the Fukushima incident, there were pictures of the nuclear reactors in the newspapers. I explained those to him and he seemed to grasp the concept because he had seen pictures of turbines in The Magic School Bus book.

The next book we borrowed was "The Magic School Bus Inside the Human Body". The students travel through the digestive system and learn about oxygenation of blood and organs. This was the book that travelled with us back to Malaysia and entertained the children for 2 weeks. Again, Ew could identify with a lot of the stuff covered because he had asked me about poo in Mamypoko once and I had drawn him a diagram of the digestive track from the mouth to the anus. The book didn't go in the same direction but it built on some knowledge that he already had and added more about blood cells, the brain and muscles. He probably can't tell you about muscle fibres, I can't either. During a trip to the hospital, he stopped in front of the Neurology Clinic, pointed to a diagram and said "Mummy, look ! That is the brain." I was impressed.

It was a nice coincidence that I happen to find the VCD for the TV tie in for the same at Tesco. It is called "The Magic School Bus Gets Eaten" but the story is similar to the book. I am not a big fan of TV, so I prefer the books. The kids watched it twice and haven't asked for it since. (For this I am indeed grateful. Amen.)
.
Then we read "The Magic School Bus Explores the Senses". It was information overload for my kids as the Magic School Bus went through the eyes, ears, nose, tongue. Ew wasn't interested. Maybe it would be more suitable for an older child who has explored those concepts before. I liked it for the explanation of how each sense works. The story was creative but Miss Frizzle wasn't driving the bus. And the vice-principle whatever his name, doesn't drive it as well. Who say men make better drivers ?

During a library visit, we came across two Magic School Bus books in a different format. The books are smaller, thinner and much simpler. Those were the Science Readers designed for children early readers to read on their own. Despite the simplicity, the science remains true. What impressed me was these books are not about simple, mundane (sorry) subjects that most readers tend to be. No "Fox does the trot" or repetitive "More spaghetti I say". No, the two books we borrowed were "The Magic School Bus Gets Crabby" and "The Magic School Bus Flies with the Dinosaurs". The Crabby one is about tide pools and the organisms within. The latter introduces the link between birds and dinosaurs. The students of Miss Frizzle's class go back in time and learn about the feathered dinosaurs of Liaoning Plain in China. I improved my dino-vocabulary with words like Jinzhousaurus, Confuciousornis.

Ae loved those simple Magic School Bus readers. She carried them to the dinner table many times to read while she ate. I think she had found in them books like those her brother was reading but more at her level.

We are currently have "The Magic School Bus in the Time of the Dinosaurs" (classic book) and "The Magic School Bus Inside the Earth"(classic book). The former is a more popular choice in our household. We borrowed "The Magic School Bus Inside the Earth" first and read it a few times. Then my reservation of "The Magic School Bus in the Time of the Dinosaurs" came through. After we picked up the "The Magic School Bus in the Time of the Dinosaurs" from the library, the "The Magic School Bus Inside the Earth" was left forgotten at the bottom of the book basket.

In summary,
1) great series of book about science except for the rude jokes about the teacher
2) suitable for children of various ages - pre-school to primary. This adult loves it too!
3) different levels of information present in a manner that allows one the choice to skim or delve
4) wide range of topics - start with those that interest your child to get the most out of it. As they start to like Miss Frizzle and the bus, introduce new topics.
5) different formats - from simple readers, classic books, chapter books, cartoons

To quote Miss Frizzle, "Fasten your seat belts and take a field trip on the Magic School Bus".

"To Ew, for reading your first 13 words"

In a previous blog, I shared my frustrations teaching Ew to read ("You can't make him read or write, but you can make him not want to"). Out of the window went Siegfried Engelmann's "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons".

I didn't give up. I am just doing it differently.

We continue going to the library. Ewan loves his reading (as in being read to). He demands for it. He whines for it. When I lost my voice for 2 days and told him I couldn't read. My 4 year old told me "Reading is very good. We must do more of it." and "Mum, you can whisper the story to me if you can't read." I continue to surround him with books, books and more books. I shared my woes with Aunt Gloria in Ohio. She homeschooled 4 kids. She is the guru of homeschooling. At Christmas, she sent us a whole box of books!

I sound out words "to myself". When I am reading a book to him, I deliberately pause and sound out words e.g. "C-A-T cat". I don't make any demands of him. Sometimes, he gets annoyed because the story is stalled but he just thinks that I need to do that for me to read well.

I make up silly song with words spelled out in the lyrics. I can't think of an example of a song I created at the moment. There is a song that they play at Toy-R-Us that is really catchy and it goes something like "B-A-N-A-N-A, banana" over and over again. My kids learn things that are rowdy, loud and silly, easily.

I build his confidence by asking him to read the words in the story which I know he has memorized. "Once upon a time, there were three ......" I pause. He says,"bears". I praise. I applaud him for reading the word. I tell Po-Po. I tell Daddy. Everyone congratulates him. Ew acts nonchalant but I know he is pleased because he is doing it more now. He doesn't protest as much.

I deliberately spell out a word, sound it out, say it out load. As we read on and the word appears again, I ask him to help me read it. He does. Sometimes, he doesn't. That's ok too. We read the "Fantastic Mr Fox" for a month. The word "fox" was everywhere. When we were at a Thai restaurant last weekend, the chief waiter's name tag said "FOX". I turn to Ew and said, "Ew, can you read the Uncle's name on his tag". He looked away. A little embarrassed. I felt triumphant. I knew he knew it. Learning was reinforced in that incident.

When I see a word that means a lot to him example a food he likes, I point it out. I say "Hey, you like cheese. I think you should know the word cheese, so we can buy more when we're out shopping."

I label a few things around the house. Richard Gentry suggested it in his book "Raising confident Readers: How to Teach your Child to Read and write, from Baby to age Seven". I have only done it once. The labels are falling off and looking tacky. My house is looking  tacky. I am not sure if it works. Seeing the word in a book, I ask Ew to check if the label for "door" is still there. "Are you sure?" I ask. He spells it out. By the way, I was quite demotivated reading it because my child does not even fit the phase 1 Richard advocates. But he does have a few good tips here and there.

Last week, I bravely counted the words that Ew can now read. 13 words - bear, bus, toy, car, cheese, door, fox, train, cat, pig, No, dog, "I can't remember the last one". I made a really big deal of it. I wrote out all the words on different coloured cards. I punched a hole in the corner of each card and tied it together with a pipe cleaner. I told everyone about the words. Everyone wanted to hear him read and he did.

Ew told me he should be rewarded with a book from my secret stash (The Box). I present him "Rumpelstiltskin".  In it I have scribbled, " To Ew, for reading your first 13 words"





Our Circle Time

I was very inspired Jamie ~ Simple Homeschool to create a Circle Time for the kids. The blog complete with a video was a great example. I immediately thought of a few ideas which I could put to work. So, the very next day, before we started any activities, I conducted out first Circle Time.

I introduced the idea by explaining that we were going to do something new and it involved us singing and maybe dancing. Ew, being Mr. 'I am in my Comfort Zone and Wish to Stay Here' protested that he did not want to sing and dance. Ae jumped at the chance. I insisted and grabbed their little hands.

I got them to hold hands and sang loudly "Let's Make a Circle" while nudging them to move around. It was a song that they were familiar with from Gymboree. That warmed them up. We did two more action songs.

Next, we shared something that we liked about the day. Ew said "Disneyland" (which did not happen today, but it does not matter). Ae said "bread" ( Ha ! Ha ! I had to smile. I wondered if she was thinking about the homemade bagel slathered with peanut butter and strawberry jam which I fed them as they played with Lego. They weren't even keen to eat it on their own to start with.) I was grateful for being able to go marketing and buy food and things for my family, without a care. I explained to them that it is important to be grateful for the good things that make us happy. I hope this will sow seeds of gratitude in them.

We finished with a little rhyme that I had learned when I was a Brownie.
" Twist me and turn me,
And show me the elf.
I looked in the water,
And there I saw myself"

The kids loved it! Even thought I said that was the end, Ae wanted to sing "Heigh Ho" (from Snow White) and we did it with actions.

That happened yesterday. Today, I had to take Ew to the hospital to check his ears. As we were dressing, Ae, who was staying at home with Po-Po, said that she wanted to sing and "do elf". I explained that we will do it when we came back cause I was running a bit late. Ew said no, we must do it before we go out. Enough said.

Butterflies on the Balcony

Our first hatchling
We kept the pupa under the central vacumn cleaner and forgot about it. When I found it, it was too late, the butterfly did not get to stretch its wings upon hatching and one wing remained folded. It lived on the balcony for a few days - hoping from plant to plant.

4 caterpillars hatched on our lemon tree after that

Going to sleep now, when I awake I will be a butterfly
(Did he know and believe in that ?)

Green at first

Then brown

Beautiful butterfly - we saw this one

The others - we saw the empty shells left behind

I wonder if a caterpillar knows it will become a butterfly. Does he know that he will enter a deep sleep and wake up again in a different form ? Does he face fear ? Or is he excited ? Or both ? That reminds me of death. We face death as an end to this life. I think about my final moments from time to time. I fear it. In those thought I am already missing my rahula (attachments). It is difficult for me to think of the end as the beginning of the next. Well, if in this life, all I do is crawl about eating leaves and poop all day, I really wouldn't care so much. Since I don't, I  want to remember to make aspirations for a peaceful and mindful end.

Playdough

A while back, we made playdough.

It was a cold, rainy week. Unable to go to the park, we spent our mornings, reading and playing Playdoh (yes, the commercial pack). The kids both play but in different ways.

Ae is contented to roll and shape the dough on her own. She makes worms mostly and birds, turtles, other animals that take the shape of worms.

Ew directs me to make him things. Roll it into a ball. When I make interesting objects like tadpoles, he conjures up stories about them. He wants to keep them, they become his pets. (I squash his pets when he is not looking and bury them in the canisters according to their colour.)

We take playdough one step further with our homemade version.

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
2 cups warm water
1 cup salt
2 tablespoon oil
1/2 teaspoon vinegar
Food colouring

Mix all the ingredients together except the food colouring. Cook it over the stove until the dough leaves the sides of the pot. Try rolling it. If it is too sticky, keep cooking until it feel right. Take it off the heat. When it is cool enough to handle, divide the dough into portions. Add food colouring and knead until the colour is evenly distributed. I only have red colouring so we had 3 colours -  plain, pink and dark pink playdough.

The volume of it makes it more entertaining and interesting than the commercial stuff. Imagine sinking your hands into huge lumps dough, stomping your foot into it, making giant what-evers. We made giant earthworms, giant tadpoles, a birthday cake. We rolled it out flat and made imprints of hands, feet, peanuts, fishes (plastic ones). Squishing on it with all one's might is pretty therapeutic too.

Unfortunately, the playdough became really sticky the next day - impossible to mould without making a mess. I tried keeping it in the fridge but when the fridge was accidentally turned off. I threw it away with the rest of the spoils. I learned later that in places where humidity is high (like rainy Taipei), the dough absorbs moisture from the air and becomes sticky. Cooking it over heat again will make it fine again. I'll keep that tip for the next time. Another idea I like to try is using natural dyes to colour the dough like turmeric, beetroot.

The playdough idea is from Instructables which I think is a really cool website for fun things to do with kids.

"You can't make him read or write, but you can make him not want to"

You may have noticed that I have been listing "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" as a book that we are reading in our house for the past few weeks. We have been borrowing it from the Taipei Public Library continuously week after week. I guess no one else out in Taipei city is as compelled to get their child to read as I am.

How's the book ? I LOVE IT !!!! It's logical. It's structured. It's numbered. It's objective. And according to the book I should have Ew reading by Dec 2010. Excellent ! Just what I needed.

Then I hit a snag - despite the dangling carrots - Thomas the Train pencil, Shinkansen eraser, Doremon 8 coloured pen - Ew HATES IT ! The only part he likes are the stories in the later chapters. Stories which he supposedly will be able to read when he reaches Chapter XX.

For weeks I was tormented. We had started off on a good note. He loved the Thomas pencil, the train note book. We progressed remarkably well through 'm', 's', 'a', 'e'. Then at Lesson 3 or 4, came the " I don't want to do lessons", the yawning, "I'm tired", "I don't like rhyming". I was patient - ah ! so very very patient. But I guess the impatience showed cause I am really not good at hiding my feelings. It shows on my face.

Did I give up ? No.

I put on my trainer hat and made it fun. I made a magic wand. I thought : We'll say the words fast when I wave the magic wand. We'll say it slow when we roll the ball/truck slow. It will be such fun!  I dropped rhyming and writing. I re-did the lessons on coloured cards (the book is black and white, minimal pictures and most unappealing). I drew pictures and use words that appeal to him like 'fire', 'fireman', 'rabbit', 'rake'. IT WAS NOT FUN ! HE STILL WANTED TO RUN !

Yesterday, we hit the lowest low. I threatened to go to the post box without him if he had not traced the 'm' and 'a's. (Yes, in hindsight I am really sorry I did that. Give me a break ! I am learning too.)

I scoured the homeschooling pages last night looking for a solution / an approach / whatever I could find. I found unschooling. I read about the natural child.

Today, I realize that the lessons we were doing is my big lesson. I am taking a year off work to be with my children. Being very achievement oriented (that's what I am - that's why I make a really good corporate employee), I want to make it 'worthwhile'. I need something to show at the end of it that said, "I gave it 101%". Sure, I learnt to cook loads of different things. I made things. I had fun with my kids. But I thought those things did not stand up to scrutiny of the public. Hmm...or is the word 'public' a cover for my egoistic self ?

I wised up today. No more lessons. From today onwards, I am going to stop scanning life for schoolish stuff. I will have fun with my kids. I will offer them opportunities to see, hear, touch, feel, move. If anyone wants to dwell further on it, we will. If not, we will move to the next thing.

And I will give myself the same opportunities.

PS - we made a windmill out of paper today :)

Lemonade 25 cents?

I find it hard to resist lemons. Who can when they are going at 25 yuan (around USD 0.75) for 9 ? I inadvertently leave the supermarket with lemons. I suspect my mother is of the same nature. She doesn't stop me. Frankly, I am not surprised because she is the one with the lemon tree on her balcony 10+ floors high up in the air.

There we were this morning with 9 lemons - 2 decaying, a couple yellowing but the rest still holding on and my mother in the background grumbling about having to throw them out.  (In case you are wondering, the local lemons are green). What do you do when your mother throws you lemons ? You have lots of fun !

Ew and I did our homeschooling lesson on lemons / lemonade.

Lesson : "How to make lemonade?"
First, we grated zest. Lovely, zingy zest that could go into a cake or muffins or add piquance to roast chicken.
Ew: "Can I smell it, mummy ?".
A: "Of course"
Ew: "Hmmmm. Eat some. can I ?"
A: "Er, sure - if you really want to. It doesn't taste... Well, try it."

This is kinesthetic learning at its best. Learning with all your senses. Learning when you're relaxed, having fun. I resisted the urge to control, to be frugal cause I really don't enjoy grating lemon zest that much and I have plans for the lovely zest.

Next, Ew tried to peel the skin off his lemon. He bashed it around for a while. I gave him a plastic knife which he grabbed with glee. The mutilated fruit is stabbed several times. I quickly added a tea towel under the chopping board. Yes, I expect such lessons to be messy but I am going to be smart about it. The mess has to be easy to clean.

I started rolling the other lemons around and execute a couple of bashes of my own. This gets the juice going. It is true. When I cut into the fruits the juice squirted out. Ew never got round to cutting his lemon. He bit into it instead and sucked whatever juice he got.

The fun fizzled out a little at this point. He had cut his finger earlier with the plastic knife and the juice was stinging the wound.  Ew expressed a need for cream. We stopped to wash his hand and apply some cream. He sat watching me, playing with pips. We had a jam jar full of lemon juice (for later use) and half a bowl for our lemonade. (If we don't get around to using the juice, we'll make ice cubes out of it. Great for when you need lemon juice but don't have lemons.)

Summary of lesson:
Lemonade = water + honey + lemon juice

Ae woke up from her nap at that point. She was hot and grouchy. Nothing a little lemonade won't fix. Soon, we were all drinking fresh lemonade from our cups. Everyone was smiling.

Ew: "Mummy, this is so fresh. Let's do it again tomorrow."

Ae: "Sumor (some more) Mummy"

Lemonade 25 cents ? No, lemonade priceless.



We had Lemon Drizzle Cake for tea. Yes, it's a cracked at the top. But heck, it tastes good. Like I said earlier, I find it hard to resist lemons.

Recipe from BBC GoodFood

We ate it while it was still warm

PS - the rest of the fruit went to my vinegar making. That's another blog for another day.